Maintenance Question "what to grease?"

[mwsxj1100j]

Having just replaced my tires on my XJ11 during the process I looked at the wheel bearings and it appears that they are sealed bearings and should I be concerned with the condition of the grease inside? Also on the front wheel I believe, that the bearings were exposed and I did grease them, but this leads me into the question what should I be concerned about greasing? I just think back to the story that my uncle told me about this kid on a Honda Magna and how the rear TV tire locked up, the bike stopped but the kid didn't. I don't know how true this story is or if this could happen due to improper driveline maintenance. This is the only bike I own and when I think abour it's age things like this cross my mind.

Any thoughts?

[jetmechmarty]

If it moves, it needs lubrication. Wheel bearings, steering bearings, swingarm bearings, all need grease.

https://youtu.be/simldPb88UU

[mack]

drive spines

As Marty stated all the tapered roller bearings should be greased periodically. I think the clymers states at 8K mile intervals. But the bigies for sure are the drive splines at the rear wheel/ final drive and the final drive/drive shaft for sure. The grease nipple on the swing arm is improperly located and does nothing, to get that joint you need to pull the final drive off and manually clean it then coat lands and groves with moly then slather over with grease.
3 Phase tried to drill in a new grease nipple location into the swing arm last year but the metal was too tough to drill and thread. Too bad because that would have been a fantastic mod.

[natemoen]

I will always suggest replacing all the wheel bearing (except left rear....) if you haven't done it. You can get all of those for less than $ 20.

[jetmechmarty]

You can get all of those for less than $ 20.

If you buy the Chinese bearings.


These are probably repackaged from the cheapest supplier. I bought some and they were made in China.

Koyo is OEM. Many of them are manufactured in the USA.

No catchy cartoon logo.

[Gmac]

Just to remind everyone

What are the links for purchasing the rear bearings?

[natemoen]

If you buy the Chinese bearings.


These are probably repackaged from the cheapest supplier. I bought some and they were made in China.

Koyo is OEM. Many of them are manufactured in the USA.

No catchy cartoon logo.

Marty, I am pretty sure we have talked about this in the past. I don't like to buy Chinese crap if I can help it, and if I have major safety riding on it I will absolutly not buy chi see crap. I can't remember the name on the bearing I bought (wasn't koyo though) but it was a quality bearing brand.

All balls does suck!

[jetmechmarty]

Koyo bought up most, if not all of the Timken plants in the US. They're first quality. They supply GM and Toyota, among many others. Mike's XS sells what they claim is a quality Japan made bearing. I suspect it's fine. I am familiar with the quality control at Koyo. You get what you pay for. I'm sure there are several quality brands to choose from.

[natemoen]

Koyo bought up most, if not all of the Timken plants in the US. They're first quality. They supply GM and Toyota, among many others. Mike's XS sells what they claim is a quality Japan made bearing. I suspect it's fine. I am familiar with the quality control at Koyo. You get what you pay for. I'm sure there are several quality brands to choose from.

Timken, thats it! I knew it was the black and orange packaging but I couldn't think of the name! So then I guess it was koyo, just with a different name.

[Old Red]

Throttle and clutch cables
Clutch and brake lever pivot bolts
Speedo cable

[TopCatGr58]

What are the links for purchasing the rear bearings?

The LEFT REAR extra wide Needle Bearing is the NA5904 , and there is a seller on ebay that is selling them in the SYI brand. It IS the correct bearing and nomeclature for the search. You may find listings for similar like NKIA5904, but they are mixed design roller and needle bearings, and are NOT designed to handle the stress/speed of the NA5904 style! They are at a decent price of $16.99 plus ~$8.00 S&H, from USA supplier/location.

T.C.